What's your favorite Shakespearean play and why?

Question

I'm fond of The Merchant of Venice myself, partially because of the extreme characters, partially because it could be considered one of Shakespeare's most controversial works (I do love a good controversy), and partially because it contains my favorite speech, located in Act 3 Scene 1, lines 52-72 (at least the numbers are correct in my version.)
The only negative aspect is, in text, Morocco is very long-winded. I haven't seen the play so I don't know if he appears that way in sight.
I'm curious because I'm reading Antony and Cleopatra now and am wondering what your favorites were, as a third one to read afterwards. I was thinking of Hamlet next, but I've always wanted A Midsummer's Night Dream... So, please, tell me your favorite!

Answer 1

Interesting question. Someone asked a similar question a couple of weeks ago, and I answered them then:

"The first Shakespearean play I ever saw live on the stage (I was 14) was Merchant of Venice. It's still my favorite. I've always wanted to see it in modern dress with Shylock played by someone like the late Brock Peters."

I still think Shakespeare's plays are best experienced (and judged) from a good stage (or film) production. After MOV, I would be torn between two of my favorites, both for reading and for production on the stage.

My favorite comedy/history would be Henry IV, Part I. After all, Falstaff is still not only Shakespeare's greatest comic character but one of the most memorable comic characters of all time. (More fun to see than to read, but delightful!) And the contrast between Prince Hal and Hotspur would make a great Broadway or Hollywood battle of the egos. Prince Hal is the popular, "everybody-likes-him" captain of the football team, who decides to get his kicks slumming around with some rootin', tootin', drinking buddies, a natural leader with a penchant for the life of pleasure. Hotspur is the ambitious, high-tempered, arrogant son of Big Business, determined to win recognition as the Leader. OK, so you've got Shakespeare's version of Bill Clinton and George Bush II--or something like that, with good, ole, fat Falstaff stealing the stage from both of them. Can't beat that for comedy/history, right?

On the other hand, my favorite tragedy, both to read and to attend, would still be Hamlet. Long but mesmerizing. For one thing, talk about famous lines and speeches . . . no other work competes with Hamlet for that. From "To be or not to be . . ." to old wordy Polonius's advice (that can be read just as well ironically), "To thine self be true, and it must follow as night the day, thou canst be false to no man . . ." to Hamlet's deathbed statement to his friend Horatio (perhaps the theme statement of the play if you read it as an example of Shakespeare's Christian humanism), "There's a divinity that shapes our ends, roughhew them how we will."

In one tragic play, which has more than its share of wildly comic and ironic moments, you have many, many human relationships explored: the relationship between a son and his famous father's memory/image; between an honorable but shrewd young man and his corrupt but shrewd step-father; between a young man and the beautiful young woman who he suspects doesn't live up to his ideals; between this young man and his girl friend's arrogant, high-tempered brother; between all three of them and the wordy, officious, manipulative, deceptive old codger (her father); between the young man and his "college" friends who play him false; and the list goes on. The tender, angry, jealous relationship between the young man and his mother, who apparently loves him dearly but must find a life of her own after her husband's untimely death. And in among all these seriously realistic relationships there are, of course, Hamlet's feigning of madness, his advice to the acting troop, his indecision expressed in the famous soliloquies, his true friendship with Horatio, his memory of the court jester ("alas, poor Yorick . . ."), until his final desperate attempt to right things in the kingdom where definitely something is wrong (after all, "There's something rotten in the state of Denmark").

Among all Shakespeare's superb characters you just can't beat Falstaff and Hamlet.

But, of course, if you want one of his true comedies, there's As You Like it with the irrepressible Rosalind, my favorite among Shakespeare's women.

And I could go on. But 'nuff said. Enjoy!!!

Answer 2

My favorites would have to be--at least from the comedies--
1) Much Ado About Nothing
2) Twelfth Night
3) A Midsummer's Night Dream
4) Taming of the Shrew

It's harder to choose from the tragedies--probably
1) Hamlet
2) King Lear
3) Othello
4) MacBeth

Answer 3

The Merchant of Venice has always been my favorite (though no one else in any of my Shakespeare classes ever shared that view, so kudos to you!). I love Shylock's character and the speeches that he gives. Jessica's complexity is also great and I love how she is protrayed (though she's terrible in the movie). Oh, and who doesn't love Portia's rantings about her suitors? Great stuff.

My next favorites are Twelfth Night (just hilarious) and Titus Andronicus (twisted and good).

Answer 4

Taming of the Shrew. Even though it is a sexes comedy it enjoyable to see how a man can manage to cause a woman to change her attitude and teachs how to love herself and him. The modern day version of this Play is a teenage movie about a Father who doesn't want his younger daughter to date because he feels she to naive to deal with boys. So until she can date her sister that is very unpoplar and very crabby must date first. This movie came out in the late 1990s or early 2000's. The movie is called Ten Things I Hate About You.

Answer 5

a midsummer night's dream was the first of shakespeare's works that i was introduced to, so that would definetely come in first on my list. this would have to be my favorite comedy of all the rest of shakespeare.

i also love othello, because of the charismatic qualities of othello and iago. iago is said to be the most evil of shakespeare's villans, and i wholeheartedly concur. but he's not just plain evil, he is also intelligent enough to come up with a way to bring revenge upon othello, and he does so but finding his weak spot. there are so many intense elements in that work, i have to put it top f my list for the tradegies, though i lovelovelove romeo and juliet.

Answer 6

Merchant of Venice. Sure the play was mesmerizing, yet my professor who taught the play for the entire semester was so passionate about it, he infused in me a love of Shakespeare.

Answer 7

Hamlet. There's a lot of deceit and scandal. He gets to sleep with a princess. She goes crazy...it's like an old version of a soap opera, full of drama! I also like Rozencrats and Gildenstren are dead. Hamlet's uncle is so bad!

Answer 8

First The Tempest

then Troilus and Cressida

then Hamlet

then the rest.

Just personal preference.

Answer 9

A Midsummar nighttime's Dream. I a lifeless ringer for it, it is beautiful, and that i performed %. many years in the past at our college drama team. it is thrilling, it is love, it is sarcastic and that is so beautiful nicely written that it will ever be my popular play bay an author...

Answer 10

HenryIV, I..the teacher practically intimidated his class into a deeper understanding of the play, the language, everything that lay "beneath the surface". He was a strange man with very large eyebrows who breathed Shakespearean fire. To this particular teacher this was "the" play, for its intricacies..

Answer 11

The merchant of venice is definately the best one.